iNiS Corp.

Overview

iNiS, which is actually an acronym for "Infinite Noise of the Inner Soul," is a Japanese game development company responsible for a variety of well-known music/rhythm games. The company was initially founded on February 3, 1997 by Keiichi Yano, and is based in Tokyo, Japan. Since the company's conception, they have developed games and engines for a variety of platforms, including the Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable.

As well as being known for developing video games, iNiS is responsible for a few game engines. nFactor2 is a rendering engine compatible with the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PC. MixJuice is another engine developed by iNiS, which is mainly used in music interactivity.

Games

iNiS's first commercial release was four years after the company's start. Their first game was Gitaroo Man for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. Gitaroo Man was well-received critically, and sold well in Japan, but failed to attain success commercially in North America and Europe. The game was later ported to the PlayStation Portable in Japan under the title Gitaroo Man Lives!.

Their second notable release came after Gundam Pilot Academy, a Japan only arcade game. In 2005, iNiS released Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, a touch screen based rhythm game on the Nintendo DS. Only released in Japan, this game was initially not very popular commercially, but attained success after a reprint, something fairly uncommon in the video game world. The game also saw a measure of popularity in the international market as an import title. Ouendan saw two sequels: an internationally released game titled Elite Beat Agents and another Japan only game titled Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2.

Since 2007, iNiS has been primarily focused on the Lips franchise, a series of singing games for the Xbox 360. They have since released four Lips games (including foreign language games), and have one in development, as well as an unannounced project for the Nintendo Wii.